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So let's go ahead and

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just talk about what the effects have
been since the pandemic started.

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Unfortunately, every industry
has been impacted by COVID-19.

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Some industries were
impacted more than others.

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So thinking about retail, hospitality,
thinking about manufacturing or

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anything that requires a lot of
human touch and human interaction.

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Those businesses, unfortunately,
have felt more of

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the brunt of what has happened
in the course of COVID-19.

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The tech industry isn't immune.

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You've probably seen a number of
different things in the news or

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online about companies,
big tech companies,

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that are doing layoffs and hiring freezes.

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All of that being said, the tech
companies are actually still hiring and

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perhaps hiring more so than any other
industries that are out there currently.

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One of the visuals I was going
to show was from canva.com.

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And of the 40 or so
different industries and companies,

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it is the only industry that is
focused primarily on hiring.

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And the reason that hiring is such
a big thing is that we've all kind of

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changed how we do business
with one another.

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What is our new normal.

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For example, many companies instead
of doing things face-to-face,

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having client meetings face-to-face, are
now just trying to interact over WebExs,

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over Slack,
over other means of communication,

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in order to advance their operations,
their jobs and to keep teams afloat.

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And because this reliance on
technology is becoming more and

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more prevalent, the tech companies,
in kind, have been trying to

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make sure that essential workers
are there to meet this demand.

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So you'll have things for
cybersecurity, DevOps,

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things that require making
sure that websites and

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services that are mission critical
are available to people to use 24/7.

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So it's becoming more crucial for

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technology companies to be able
to meet this rising demand.

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And so with that framing the conversation,

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let's talk a little bit
about career resilience.

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So when we talk about resilience,
we talk about being able to withstand

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the stress and anxiety of things that are
going on in the world and in your life.

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Career resilience is
a little bit more specific.

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It's talking about, how do you adjust
to career change when it happens?

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00:03:05,839 --> 00:03:10,426
How do you adapt to the market when
the market is telling you that these

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00:03:10,426 --> 00:03:15,188
are the skills that we need now versus
the ones that you currently have?

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And then taking that further,

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it's not only just endearing
what's going on with you.

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It's also talking about
adopting healthy behaviors and

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abilities and mindsets, so
that when things inevitably do happen,

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that you're able to address them
rather quickly and be more efficient.

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So it's important to kind of learn
those three elements of adapting,

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being able to recover, and
address things as they come up.

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And so we'll talk about that
in a little bit more detail.

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Before the pandemic,
it was really important for

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people to stay relevant in terms of
their career goals and career choices.

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00:04:05,366 --> 00:04:10,227
It is no longer the case that
you'll be able to have just

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00:04:10,227 --> 00:04:12,560
one job until you retire.

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00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:18,219
In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics
has said that most people in the course

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of their lifetime will have anywhere
from 11 to 12 jobs on average.

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And those jobs are between
two to seven careers.

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So clearly it's going to be much,
much different for

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you than it probably was in the past.

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But when you add in that added
stressor of the pandemic,

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it takes things a little further.

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For the pandemic, you have to focus on
the fact that there is no normal anymore.

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It's different.

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Most of you are probably going
to be working from home for

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the foreseeable future or
having different types of orientation or

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meetings at home versus
being in the office.

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And a lot of tech company leaders
have indicated that their

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intention is not to bring
some of these workers back.

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They've realized so many benefits and
gains from doing things this way.

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It really doesn't make sense to
kind of change the status quo.

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So now that we know this,
how do we make sure that we're

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being ready and being prepared for
all of this change?

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And so
I focus on three very specific things.

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The first is making sure that your
technical skill is up to par with

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what's being asked.

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And technical skill is anything that
can be measured in some way and

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taught in some way,
kind of through exams or certifications.

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So because of the pandemic, we're
noticing that there's an increase for

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people to have cybersecurity skills
as well as agile frameworks for

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developing software.

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So thinking about Scrum, and
thinking about how do we improve

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processes in the business so
that you can get things to market faster.

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So thinking specifically about DevOps and
how we get both the operations and

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development teams working
together to get code out faster.

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So these are just some of the things
that were highlighted from dice.com,

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which is a resource that I recommend in
terms of getting a pulse on what's going

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on in the industry.

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Then the second thing is soft skills.

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Obviously, communication is going to be
more important since you're not in person.

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But there's also something
to be said about networking.

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Networking is going to be incredibly
important now more than ever, because

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you're going to need people to tell
you what the pulse of the industry is.

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And you're also going to need to know
how to uncover opportunities that

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are not necessarily advertised.

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So it's really important to kind of
continue to build your networks if

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you haven't already done so, or start
building your network if you need to.

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I also focus on future thinking.

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Future thinking is incredibly important
because while you're focusing

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on the skills that are necessary for
you now, you do need to think about,

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well, what's going to be important for
me to know as things go on.

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So for example, ThoughtWorks,
which is a consultancy

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00:07:36,743 --> 00:07:42,185
company publishes a semiyearly
publication on technology and

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00:07:42,185 --> 00:07:47,113
other related things that they
believe are on their up and

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up, or you should be having focus, or

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where you probably don't want
to spend as much of your time.

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00:07:55,655 --> 00:08:00,169
And so it's important not only to
see what's on the horizon, but

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to get a better understanding of what
your skill sets are going to have to

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be once you get to that point to make
sure that you're competitive and

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that you're someone that's going to
be able to compete on that level.

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And then finally, digital collaboration.

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As we move more towards remote work,

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having access to digital collaboration
tools is going to be key.

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But knowing how to leverage them and

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to utilize them is also going
to be incredibly important.

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So you'll see things like Zoom,
and WebEx and, Slack,

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all these different ways that we
can kind of talk to one another.

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And the key will be remembering
what tool will work best for

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your particular situation.

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So if it's a matter of sharing a question
or just asking something really simple,

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you can send a Slack message,
you could send an email.

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If you're thinking about something
that is a little bit more complex,

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something that requires a little bit
more discussion, it's going to be

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00:09:09,484 --> 00:09:14,972
really important to think about, well,
how do I wanna convey that message?

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00:09:14,972 --> 00:09:20,589
So in this case WebEx might be better,
or having a phone call might be better.

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So just understanding
the tools that are out there,

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getting to understand how
the platforms work, and

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then making sure that you're using
the right tool for what you're doing.

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And then finally, in the interest of time,

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I did take some time to talk
a little bit about self care.

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And self care is probably
the most important part of

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building your career resiliency.

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You're not going to be good at your job,
you're not gonna be

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effective at learning,
you're not gonna be your best self for

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other people if you are exhausted or
tired.

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And it really is important that
you take that time to recharge,

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to refresh, to take breaks.

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It's really incumbent on you to do that.

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And even I have to remind myself very
often that I need to stop and just rest.

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So whenever possible, make sure that
you're spending time taking breaks,

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as well as getting
an adequate amount of sleep.

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You'll also wanna make sure that you
are okay from both a physical and

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a mental health point.

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Not so much just getting exercise and
proper nutrition, and rest,

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then making sure that you're addressing
your mental health needs as possible.

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So depression and anxiety,
unfortunately, are on the rise because

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of everything that's going on, and
those things do need to be addressed.

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So whether it's through a professional or
a loved one, or family member,

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00:11:01,318 --> 00:11:05,874
it's really important to make sure that
you're addressing those mental health

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needs as much as possible.

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And also make sure that you're
talking to your family and

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your loved ones during this time.

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Connections and communication
are incredibly important and you just

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00:11:20,421 --> 00:11:25,886
wanna make sure that you're, [SOUND]
Able to have that kind of discussion.

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So, unfortunately,
I believe that we're running out of time.

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But I thank you for your patience as we
work through the technical issues and

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00:11:36,729 --> 00:11:41,565
as I, [LAUGH] Walk through
this particular presentation.

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But I would be more than happy to connect
with anyone that's interested in learning

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more about how to stay resilient in their
careers and in their personal lives.

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You can feel free to reach out to me
at my website on susannetedric.com.

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Thank you.

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00:11:59,959 --> 00:12:03,198
It looks like we have a question.

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00:12:03,198 --> 00:12:08,533
What is the best way to continue to
network during these times with COVID.

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00:12:08,533 --> 00:12:11,203
So just touching briefly on that,

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00:12:11,203 --> 00:12:15,080
what you're doing now is
the best way to network.

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00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:18,732
So the Threehouse Festival,
there is a networking opportunity so

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I would definitely take advantage and
leverage that as much as possible.

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00:12:22,786 --> 00:12:28,033
LinkedIn is always my favorite
way to network with people.

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You can look up their backgrounds, not so
much just for jobs that you're interested

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00:12:33,940 --> 00:12:38,946
in now, but ones in the future, and
set up informational interviews.

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If you're part of any professional
organisations, also have ways to connect

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with one another virtually through
virtual happy hours and the like.

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[SOUND] And
how do you deal with imposter syndrome?

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So this is actually something
I deal with all the time.

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And I think the important thing is
when you have that negative thought

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that's coming into your head that
I'm not the right person for this,

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I'm not ready for this,
They should have picked another person.

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It's sometimes helpful to kind
of challenge the thought and

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kind of think about, well, what it is
exactly that is causing this anxiety.

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Is it because I don't feel like
my skill set is up to speed?

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Is it because I don't feel
confident when I talk, or

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confident when I'm in certain situations?

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Or is it just my anxiety and overdrive?

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I found it really helpful to kind of
talk through where I think the sources

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of my anxiety are in terms of having
those imposter syndrome thoughts.

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And then talking with a good colleague,
or mentor, or friend,

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and kind of talking through
that a little further.

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So if it is an issue of I don't feel
like I have the adequate skill,

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how do I make sure that, okay,
I can get that skill if I needed or

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having someone verify it's all in your
head, you have that skill automatically.

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Will the pandemic make it more difficult
for entry level people to get a career?

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00:14:31,891 --> 00:14:39,149
I would say that the pandemic in general
is making it difficult for everyone.

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00:14:39,149 --> 00:14:42,257
In terms of entry level careers,

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00:14:42,257 --> 00:14:48,149
I think it depends on like where
exactly we're talking about.

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00:14:48,149 --> 00:14:53,807
As I said, in the tech industry,
there's all kinds of opportunities,

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00:14:53,807 --> 00:14:58,557
so it's really more of a matter
of doing that due diligence.

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00:14:58,557 --> 00:15:05,304
Finding where the opportunities lie and
opening yourself up to kind of pursuing

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00:15:05,304 --> 00:15:11,054
that a little further in some careers
that might be a little harder.

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00:15:11,054 --> 00:15:15,356
I think it's just kind of reframing
the challenge a little bit,

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00:15:15,356 --> 00:15:19,181
to kind of reframe how we've
typically looked for jobs,

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00:15:19,181 --> 00:15:25,097
how we've typically reached out for people
and being creative in our problem solving.

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00:15:25,097 --> 00:15:30,275
So again, using more online resources,
looking in new places

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00:15:30,275 --> 00:15:36,835
that perhaps you probably didn't look
before, and kind of rolling with that.

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00:15:36,835 --> 00:15:40,571
So I don't think that for
entry level careers it's difficult.

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00:15:40,571 --> 00:15:45,318
It's just more a matter
of reframing how you've

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00:15:45,318 --> 00:15:49,615
typically gone about looking for careers.

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00:15:49,615 --> 00:15:53,654
What is the most successful thing you
have experienced in the tech industry?

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00:15:53,654 --> 00:15:59,300
I think for myself the most successful

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00:15:59,300 --> 00:16:06,540
was helping a colleague
achieve their success.

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00:16:06,540 --> 00:16:13,703
And I know that might sound a little
counter, [LAUGH] Counter intuitive,

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00:16:13,703 --> 00:16:18,634
but it meant that I had come
to a place where not only

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00:16:18,634 --> 00:16:23,462
was I able to transfer my
skills to someone else.

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00:16:23,462 --> 00:16:29,530
But I was able to help somebody realize
their own dreams and aspirations.

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00:16:29,530 --> 00:16:32,474
And really kind of coach them through and

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00:16:32,474 --> 00:16:38,360
handhold as they kind of went through both
the highs and the lows of finding a job,

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00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:43,837
having job interviews and then dealing
with stressors of being on the job.

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00:16:43,837 --> 00:16:48,396
So for me seeing my colleagues success

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00:16:48,396 --> 00:16:53,240
made me feel good because I knew that that

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00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:57,947
was a very integral part of my success.